Buckles for safety belts and the like



Nov. 29, 1966 w. J. EUBANK 3,287,775

BUCKLES FOR SAFETY BELTS AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 29, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet1 g 2 Fl G.1.

20a. Z9 Z841 4 34 32 77 6 75 77 4 INVENTOR.

WILL/AM d. ELIBANK Nov. 29, 1966 w. J. EUBANK 3,287,775

BUCKLES FOR SAFETY BELTS AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 29, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet2 INVENTOR W/LL/Am J. EUBANK BY l 0! United States Patent 3,287,775BUCKLES FOR SAFETY BELTS AND THE LIKE William J. Eubank, Livonia, Mich.,assignor to American Safety Equipment Corporation, New York, N.Y. FiledOct. 29, 1964, Ser. No. 407,431 6 Claims. (CI. 24-77) This inventionrelates to buckles for safety belts, and particularly to belts of thetype used in airplanes, automobiles and for other purposes.

It is an object of the invention to provide a buckle of this kind whichwill meet all requirements for safety; which will be composed ofrelatively few operating parts; which will provide for a firm and securelatching effect, yet which will permit quick release when required.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision of a buckleincluding a rockably mounted springbiased latching plate located withinit and with the spring thereof operative to normally urge the latchingplate to an engaged position; of a cover member mounted on the body ofthe buckle and having a limited pivotal movement with respect thereto,said cover member being coupled to the latching plate in a manner torock the plate to a position of release when the cover member ismanually raised.

The invention further contemplates a manner of mounting the latchingplate between the side walls of the body member and it' contemplatesother structural features to be described hereinafter and moreparticularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein an illustrative embodiment of theinvention is disclosed,

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the improved buckle and the connectionplate therefor;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the buckle;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the buckle with the cover member removed;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the structure of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the latching plate;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 6-6 of FIG.5, showing the latching plate in its engaged position;

FIG. 7 is a View similar to FIG. 6, but showing the latching platedisengaged from the connection plate;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 88 of FIG.5, looking in the direction of the arrows, and

FIG. 9 is a view on a reduced scale, showing the inside face of thecover member with a part thereof shown fragmentarily.

Referring to the drawings, the body member of the buckle is generallyindicated at 1 and the cover member therefor is indicated at 2. The bodymember 1 is provided with a bottom wall 3 and a pair of upstanding sidewalls 4. Adjacent to one end of the body member 1 is provided acylindrical belt-engaging rod 5 provided at its opposite ends withflattened parts or lugs 6 which slidably fit in inclined slots 7 formedin the opposite side walls 4 of the body member. One end of the belt,shown at 8, is passed through an aperture 9 in the bottom wall 3 of thebuckleand is looped around the rod 5 and then passed between the rod anda partition 10 extending across the interior of the body 1 and locatedadjacent to the rod 5. The belt is then passed out of the body 1 throughthe aperture 9 as clearly shown in FIG. 2. When pull is exerted on thebelt-end 8, rod 5 is drawn toward the partition 10, and the belt portionextending over the rod is then clampingly held between rod 5 and thepartition 10 and is thus maintained against slippage or displacement.The surface of the rod 5 is preferably knurled as shown in FIG. 3 andthe partition as shown may be slightly bowed or curved, as seen in FIG.3, to counteract strain imposed on it by the pull exerted on the belt.Partition 10 is further backed by lugs 11 formed out of the side walls 4of the body 1.

A latching plate 12 shown in FIG. 5 is adapted for engagement by aconnection plate or loop 20, the latter having the second end 21 ofthebelt attached thereto. The latching plate is formed with a transverseslot 13 and a depression 14, said depression resulting in the formationof a downwardly-projecting lip 15 that terminates in a shoulder 16curved for swivel action with a curved edge 18 in a slot 19 inconnection plate 20 as will appear.

Extending laterally from the opposite sides of the latching plate 12 areend lugs 17, each of these lugs fitting into a slot 18a in each of theside walls 4 of the body 1. As will be seen in FIG. 4, wherein the slot18:: is slightly exaggerated to show its contour, it will be noted thatthe slot is so shaped that it will permit a rocking movement of thelatching plate. This will be apparent from FIGS. 6 and 7. In FIG. 6, thelatching plate 12 is shown in its lowered or locking position wherein itwill be seen that its curved shoulder 16 is in engagement with theaforesaid correspondingly curved edge 18 of a slot 19 provided in thebelt connection plate 20, the latter having as heretofore stated thesecond end 21 of the belt attached thereto. In FIG. 7 is shown theupwardly rocked or raised position of the latching plate and theshoulder 16 has risen out of the slot 19 to enable the connection plateto be withdrawn from the body 1 of the buckle by a pull exerted on saidplate in the direction of arrow 22.

The purposeof curvature or radius on edge 18 of slot 19 of connectionplate 20 and corresponding curvature or radius on edge or shoulder 16for swivel action is to cause equal load distribution of rod or bar 5 oneach side of body 1 after partition or buttress 10 deforms to a straightline upon application of excessive load. As heretofore stated, slots 18aare so shaped as to permit this rocking movement or inclination of thelatching plate. For this purpose, the lug parts of latching plate 12 maybe slightly inclined as illustrated at 17a in FIG. 2, if required, tofacilitate the rocking movement of the plate.

At 23 is shown a leaf spring adapted to bias latching plate 12 in normaland depressed condition. To maintain said spring within body 1, and inthe form illustrated, the spring has openings 24 along a transverse and.offset edge portion 2 6 abutting an end portion of body bottom wall 3,said openings being engaged or penetrated by protrusions 30 extendingolf ribs or posts 39a from cover member 2 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 9). Spring 23extends toward the opposite end of body 1 and is preferably providedintermediate its length with a slight protrusion 25 to bear against thepart of the belt that extends over rod 5 in order to exert a slightfrictional resistance for preventing rod 5 from rattling when the beltend 8 has no load on it. The end 26 of the spring 23 may also beconfined and maintained in position in any other suitable Way toeffectuate equivalent functions.

The arrangement of springs 23 is such that it bears down on latchingplate 12 and normally maintains the same in its lowermost position withlip 15 resting against bottom wall 3 as shown in FIG. 2. When connectionplate 20 is slid into position between lip 15 and bottom wall 3 of thebody, latching plate 12 will be raised against the bias of spring 23until its preferably curved shoulder 16 engages behind preferably curvededge 18 of slot 19. This engagement will be maintained until manualmovement of the cover member is effected.

Connection plate 20 has a pair of shoulders 20a rearwardly of slot 19and are adapted to serve as limiting stops for travel of plate 20 inconjunction with lower corner notches 4a at one end of the body sidewalls 4. In addition, guide lugs 27 for connection plate 20 are providedin body 1, the lugs as shown being punched out of the body side walls 4for guiding movement of the connection plate thereunder to the engagedposition with latching plate 12. Lugs 27 and the shoulder-notch 20a4aengagement resist shifting and impositionof torque with respect toconnection plate 20 when in engaged position with latching plate 12.

Cover member 2 includes a top wall 28, side walls 41 and an integralinclined end wall 29, the latter wall being reinforced by aforementionedribs or posts 39a. End wall 29 is provided with an inturned end 31 whichextends under the end of the bottom wall 3 as shown in FIG. 2. Sidewalls 41 fit on the outside of the side walls 4 when the cover is in itsclosed position. At the opposite end, the cover member is formed with arounded flange 32 constituting an extension of the top wall of the coverand forming a finger piece by which the cover can be raised to elevatethe latching plate 12 to released position, as shown in FIG. 7.Engagement between cover 2 and latching plate 12 is suitably provided asby flange 39 extending from cover wall 33 to permit independent angularmovement of the plate with respect to the cover. As shown forillustration, the flange may be removable. Thus, behind flange 32 is endwall 33 and there-behind is a pair of blocks 34 secured to the insidesurface of the cover and the wall 33. Mounted on these blocks by meansof screws 35 is an angle piece 3-6. Said angle piece has one of itsflanges 37 accommodated in a groove 38 in the blocks 34 and its otherflange 39 extends under the forward end of the latching plate 12. Thisarrangement is such that the cover cannot be separated from the bodymember without removal of the strip or angle piece 36, but it permitsthe latching plate and cover to have the required rocking movement orlimited pivotal swing to enable the cover when lifted by movement of thefinger piece 32 to elevate the latching plate in a manner to permitdisengagement thereof from the connection plate 20.

From the foregoing, the operation of the improved buckle will be readilyunderstood. When the connection plate 20 is inserted into the body ofthe buckle below the front end wall 33 of cover member 2 and along bodybottom wall 3 by movement of the connection plate from the right asviewed in FIG. 1, it will be guided by side walls 4 below lugs 27, andas soon as the edge 18 of the slot 19 passes latching plate shoulder 16,the spring 23 will force the latching plate downwardly to enableshoulder 16 to enter behind the edge 18. The connection plate willthereupon be prevented from unintentional withdrawal from within thebody 1. To release end 21 from the belt buckle the flange or fingerpiece 32 is engaged by the fingers and is raised to an extent todisengage the latching plate from the edge 18, whereupon the plate 20can be withdrawn by movement thereof in the direction indicated by arrow22 in FIG. 7.

Thus, the structure described is comprised of relatively few parts, hascentering and reinforcing provisions to prevent jamming of parts underload to insure belt release and allows the connection plate to beinserted and removed at the same end of the buckle as the part thereofthat is finger-engaged for the unlatching movement. The latter featuremakes operation more natural to the user. Moreover, the structurepossesses numerous other advan tages heretofore mentioned and alsoapparent to those skilled in this art.

Having thus described a single embodiment of the invention, it isobvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broadenough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexedclaims.

I claim: 1. A buckle for safety belts adapted to be attached to an endof a safety belt section comprising, a body member, a latching platerockably secured to the body member, said latching plate having adownwardly-bulged central portion and provided with an elongated slot atone edge of said central portion, the slot defining a lip along one edgedisposed out of the plane of the body of the latching plate, springmeans secured within the body member and operative on the latching plateto cause said latching plate to be resiliently held against the bodymember, a connection plate attached to an end of another safety beltsection, said connectionplate having a slot opening into which the lipenters under the bias of the spring when the connection plate is slidinto the body for positioning between said lip and body member, saidslot opening in the connection plate having an edge engageable with saidengaging lip to oppose withdrawal of the connection plate from the body,and a cover member havin a limited raising movement with respect to thebody member and connected to the body member, complementary engagingmeans between the cover member and the latching plate so that thelatching plate will be disengaged from the connection plate when thecover member is manually raised, said engaging lip having a curved edgeand said slot opening edge in the connection plate being correspondinglycurved for swivellable engagement therebetween.

2. A buckle for safety belts adapted to be attached to an end of asafety belt section comprising a body member having a bottom wall andspaced apart side walls, a latching plate having parts in engagementwith the side walls for rocking movement of the latching plate, thelatching plate having a lip, spring means operative on the latchingplate to cause said latching plate to be resiliently held down with itslip disposed against the bottom of the body member, a connection plateattached to one end of another belt section, said connection platehaving an aperture wholly surrounded by parts of said plate and intowhich the lip extends under the bias of the spring to enter saidaperture and engage against the edge of the same, when the connectionplate is slid into the body to position same between said lip and thebottom wall, and a cover member connected to the body member, said covermember having a limited raising movement with respect to the bodymember, a rod in the body member around which one end of the firstmentioned safety belt section is looped, a curved partition in the bodyadjacent to said rod serving as a clinching bar in conjunction with saidbelt loop, said spring having a part operative frictionally against aportion of the :belt loop around the rod to prevent rattling, and meanson the cover member for engaging with the latching plate so that thelatching plate will be disengaged from the connection plate when thecover is manually raised.

3. A buckle for safety belts comprising, a body including side walls,slots in said side walls, a latching plate mounted between the walls and'having lugs extending laterally from it and entering the slots, theslots being shaped to permit the latching plate to have a rockingmovement, the latching plate having a protruding lip portion defining aslot alongside one edge of the lip portion and, caused to be raised orlowered by the rocking movement of the latching plate, a leaf springanchored at one end of the body and extending toward the opposite end ofthe same and having a free end overlying the latching plate for biasingthe latching plate in a manner to bring its lip adjacent to the bottomof the body member, a cover hingedly attached to the body, said coverhaving a ledge engaging under the forward portion of the latch ingmember to thereby elevate the latching member and bring its lip awayfrom the bottom of the body when the cover is manually raised.

' 4. A buckle for safety belts comprising, a body having side walls,slots in said side walls, a latching plate pivotally mounted in saidslots, a centrally distorted part on the latching plate forming a lip onlatching plate, the

plate having a slot opening extending along and exposing an edge of thelip, a belt connector attached to one end of a belt, said connectorhaving a slot aperture into which the lip enters when the connector isentered into the body from one end thereof, a leaf spring Within thebody for biasing the latching plate to connector-engaging position, acover mounted over the body and having a limited pivotal movementrelative to the body, said cover having a strip element engaging behindthe latching plate so that raising movement of the cover will raise thelip out of the aperture in the connector, the cover having a liftingflange projecting beyond one end of the body for the manual raising ofthe cover, said flange being located at the same end of the body as theend where the connector is inserted into the body to bring the saidconnector to lip-engaging position in the body.

5. A safety belt buckle as provided for in claim 4, wherein the slotsare shaped to permit tilting movement of the latching plate, the coverhaving an inturned end engaging with one end of the body, a rod in thebody around which an end of the belt is looped, a curved partition inthe body adjacent to said rod, and the leaf spring having a partoperative frictionally against the portion of the belt looped around therod.

6. A buckle for safety belts adapted to be attached to an end of asafety belt section comprising, a body member, a latching plate rockablysecured to the body member, said latching plate having adownwardly-bulged central portion and provided with an elongated slot atone edge of said central portion, the slot defining a lip along one edgedisposed out of the plane of the body of the latching plate, springmeans secured within the body member and operative on the latching plateto cause said latching plate to be resiliently held against the bodymember, a connection plate attached to an end of another safety beltsection, said connection plate having a slot opening into which the lipenters under the bias of the spring when the connection plate is slidinto the body for positioning between the said lip and body member, saidslot opening in the connection plate having an edge engagable with saidengaging lip to oppose withdrawal of the connection plate from the body,a cover member havin a limited raising movement with respect to the bodymember and connected to the body member, complementary engaging meansbetween the cover member and the latching plate so that the latchingplate will be disengaged from the connection plate when the cover memberis manually raised, a rod in the body member around which one end of thefirst mentioned belt section is looped and a curved partition in thebody adjacent to said rod serving as a clinching bar in conjunction withsaid belt loop, said spring having a part operative frictionally againsta portion of the belt looped around the rod to prevent rattling.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,635,317 4/1953Harley 24-230 2,999,288 9/ 1961 Warner 24230 3,013,317 12/1961 Weber24230 X 3,091,010 5/1963 Davis 24230 X 3,130,466 4/1964 Carter 242303,148,427 9/1964 Hoffstrom 24196 3,157,929 11/1964 Warner 24-1963,170,211 2/1965 Van Noord 24-230 3,181,215 5/1965 Eberhart 2475 FOREIGNPATENTS 1,326,556 4/1964 France.

968,887 9/ 1964 Great Britain.

BERNARD A. GELAK, Primary Exam ner.

1. A BUCKLE FOR SAFETY BELTS ADAPTED TO BE ATTACHED TO AN END OF ASAFETY BELT SECTION COMPRISING, A BODY MEMBER, A LATCHING PLATE ROCKABLYSECURED TO THE BODY MEMBER, SAID LATCHING PLATE HAVING ADOWNWARDLY-BULGED CENTRAL PORTION AND PROVIDED WITH AN ELONGATED SLOT ATONE EDGE OF SAID CENTRAL PORTION, THE SLOT DEFINING A LIP ALONG ONE EDGEDISPOSED OUT OF THE PLANE OF THE BODY OF THE LATCHING PLATE, SPRINGMEANS SECURED WITHIN THE BODY MEMBER AND OPERATIVE ON THE LATCHING PLATETO CAUSE SAID LATCHING PLATE TO BE RESILIENTLY HELD AGAINST THE BODYMEMBER, A CONNECTION PLATE ATTACHED TO AN END OF ANOTHER SAFETY BELTSECTION, SAID CONNECTION PLATE HAVING A SLOT OPENING INTO WHICH THE LIPENTERS UNDER THE BIAS OF THE SPRING WHEN THE CONNECTION PLATE IS SLIDINTO THE BODY FOR POSITIONING BETWEEN SAID LIP AND BODY MEMBER, SAIDSLOT OPENING IN THE CONNECTION PLATE HAVING AN EDGE ENGAGEABLE WITH SAIDENGAGING LIP TO OPPOSE WITHDRAWAL OF THE CONNECTION PLATE FROM THE BODY,AND A COVER MEMBER HAVING A LIMITED RAISING MOVEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THEBODY MEMBER AND CONNECTED TO THE BODY MEMBER, COMPLEMENTARY ENGAGINGMEANS BETWEEN THE COVER MEMBER AND THE LATCHING PLATE SO THAT THELATCHING PLATE WILL BE DISENGAGED FROM THE CONNECTION PLATE WHEN THECOVER MEMBER IS MANUALLY RAISED, SAID ENGAGING LIP HAVING A CURVED EDGEAND SAID SLOT OPENING EDGE IN THE CONNECTION PLATE BEING CORRESPONDINGLYCURVED FOR SWIVELLABLE ENGAGEMENT THEREBETWEEN.